The Lord is My Shepherd Part I.

 

The 23rd Psalm appears to have been written later in David’s life. This is evidenced by the fact that he had enemies (v. 5), he was facing the danger of death (v. 4), he was experiencing rest (v. 3), and he was experiencing prosperity (v. 5). Some believe he wrote this during the rebellion of his son Absolom who sought to take over his throne. This would have been one of the darkest times in David’s life, a time when he was not sure if he would make it out alive. Having said this, he most certainly was reflecting on those days as a young boy tending the sheep. Let’s go ahead and take a look at Psalm 23. It reads:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David begins by stating that the Lord is his shepherd. This Lord again, is Jehovah, the covenant name for God for the Jewish people. In Psalm 8, he says that Jehovah is his lord or master, but here the Lord is his shepherd, highlighting some different aspects of God’s nature. It was the shepherd’s job to love and care for the sheep. He would feed and water them, protect them from predators, guide them, and discipline them. Sheep have poor survival skills due to being in captivity, and have a propensity to wander from the safety of the flock and protection of the shepherd. It is not a whole lot unlike people: although we may know what is right and good, we still have a tendency to go astray from the protection of the Shepherd and the safety of other believers. The idea of the Lord being our shepherd is a consistent theme throughout the Bible.

He says that because the Lord was his shepherd, he would not want. God is the supplier of all our needs. There is nothing that we need that the Lord cannot or will not give us. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19) Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Mat 6:31-33) The Lord is also the fulfillment of all our desires. David wrote in another Psalm, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psa 37:4) As we delight in Him, He will either give us our desires, or He will change our hearts so our desires align with His will.

Next, David explains why he will not want. He says that the Lord makes him to lie down in green pastures. This phrase means to make or to cause to lie down. Apparently, sheep do not lie down easily, and will not do so if they are afraid, if there is friction among the sheep, if there are pests, or if they are anxious about their food. The shepherd takes care of all these so that the sheep will lie down and rest. So too, the Lord takes care of our anxieties, our strife and division, the Enemy who seeks to hinder us, and our physical and spiritual food. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30) Peter also writes, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Pe 5:7)

The Lord leads him beside the still waters. Sheep are leery of running water. They can easily be swept away in fast moving water, they have difficulty keeping their balance when walking on rocks, and when their wool gets soaked it gets heavy quickly, making drowning a real risk. The shepherd will lead them to calm waters so that they can safely drink. Sometimes, fresh water is difficult to find, so the shepherd must get creative to find water for his sheep, even making ramps for them to walk down into caverns to drink. This may make them apprehensive, but the shepherd is there leading them and soothing them with his voice.

David said the Lord restores his soul. The primary meaning of this word has to do with turning back, and in a positive sense is what we would call repentance. The same word is translated as convert, which in context of coming to faith, repentance should be present. It is the same word that appears in Psalm 19 where David says that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. It also can mean to refresh or restore, which is often the case when a person repents and is converted. Sin wearies you and me, and it is repentance that brings the refreshing. Peter preached to the crowd after the healing of the lame man, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19) Even if a person is right with the Lord, we all need refreshing from time to time, and this refreshing comes as we spend time waiting on the Lord through prayer, reading the Scriptures, and spending time with other believers.

He says the Lord leads him in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. There are well-worn paths on the Judean hill sides where shepherds lead their sheep, and the Lord leads us on paths of righteousness. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (Jn 14:26) And, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (Jn 16:13-14) So then, the Holy Spirit teaches us the word of God, those paths of righteousness we are to walk down. He does this not because we are somehow good enough, but for His own name’s sake. He is a good shepherd who wants to see His sheep thrive and be successful.

David said that though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil. For believers, there are the green pastures and still waters of life, as well as the valley of the shadow of death. These are those near-death experiences in which we are not sure if we will make it through. David had these experiences, and we have them at times as well. Truthfully, they can be quite frightening. I have not had a near-death experience thus far, but I have been in situations where I wondered if I was. This passage is one of the ones the Lord brought me to as a source of comfort. I’ve said that I’m not afraid of where I’m going when I die, but I am afraid of the process at times. Unless you die in your sleep, there just isn’t a real good way to go. However, we needn’t fear death or its shadow, for Jesus has beaten death by rising from the dead, and if He has risen, then we will too. I’m reminded of the lines from an Easter hymn that say, “Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!” This was taken from the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Co 15:55-57) Praise God, Jesus is our victory over death!

The Bible is full of passages telling us not to fear. Although it does not appear 365 times as some have said, this phrase “fear not” or similar phrases appear over 70 times in the Scriptures. I think the Lord is telling us this for a reason. The Lord told Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:9) Paul told Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) I do not take this as a stern command not to fear, but an encouragement or admonishment from a loving Father who is reassuring us.

David said he did not have to fear, for the Lord was with him. He wrote in another Psalm, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psa 118:6) The threats on David’s life were a very real thing, and they were pretty consistent throughout much of his life. In this David learned to trust the Lord. The author of Hebrews also writes, ‘“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”’ (Heb 13:5) If we truly believe the Lord is with us no matter what we’re going through, we would be afraid a lot less often.

Not only is the Lord with us, He comforts us with His rod and staff. The shepherd’s rod was a club, and was primarily used for defending the sheep against predators. When David recounted to Saul how he had rescued a sheep from a lion and a bear, he stated he struck them and killed them. It was common practice for the shepherd to strike the animal over the head with the club to stun it, and then to slit its throat. The staff was a long slender stick, often hooked at the tip, and was primarily used to guide, correct, and discipline the sheep. It was used to poke or prod them in order to get them where they needed to be. If a sheep was in a precarious situation, the shepherd could use the curved end of the staff to hook the sheep by the neck and lift it to safety. As I stated before, it is through the word and the Holy Spirit that the Lord guides and corrects us. Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17) He also will use trials at times to discipline us. The Psalmist wrote, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” And, “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” (Psa 119:67, 71, and 75) Sometimes, we suffer due to no fault of our own, for it is just a part of life in this fallen world.  God comforts us here so that we can comfort others in similar trials. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Co 1:3-4) In summary, God’s protection, guidance, and discipline were a source of comfort to David, and should be for us as well.

He said that God prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies. He uses figurative language to describe the Lord’s bounty and blessing for him even in the midst of trouble. Guzek writes, “The goodness and care suggested by the prepared table is set right in the midst of the presence of my enemies. The host’s care and concern doesn’t eliminate the presence of my enemies but enables the experience of God’s goodness and bounty even in their midst.”

The Lord anointed David’s head with oil. Apparently, shepherds would anoint the sheep with oil for a few reasons. The first was because of fighting rams. During the breeding seasons, rams will fight each other over the ewes by butting heads, using great force at times. This can cause serious injury or even death. Here in North Central Washington, we have big-horned sheep, and every once in a while, you will catch the rams fighting each other. It is amazing how loud the clashing of their horns is. For this reason, shepherds would heavily grease the horns and heads of their rams in hopes they would slip on impact. The second reason shepherds would anoint their sheep with oil was because of nose flies. The flies hover around the sheep’s head, and lay eggs in their nose. The larva then burrow into the soft tissue of the sheep’s nasal passages, causing irritation, inflammation, and infection. So, the shepherds would apply olive oil and essential oils to repel the flies. The third reason they would anoint the head of sheep is because of scab, a parasitic condition caused by the Psoroptes ovis mite. The medicinal oil was believed to kill the parasite. In the Bible, oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit working through believers that brings unity rather than fighting, deals with the Enemy who seeks to harass the people of God, and brings healing to our physical bodies.

David’s cup overflowed or ran over. The cup can refer to different things in the Scriptures, but it would seem that he was overwhelmed by the provision and goodness of God in his life. He was filled up to overflowing. I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 7 where He says, “’He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (Jn 7:38-39) It’s that overflow of the work of the Spirit in our lives that makes the Scriptures alive and relevant to us, comforts and encourages us, and empowers us for the work of the ministry. He also convicts the hearts of nonbelievers and softens them to the Gospel message. It should be noted that this is the way the Lord shepherds His people, through the Word and through the Spirit. It’s just the way it works. Consequently, any church or ministry should seek to be in line with this by seeking to shepherd others through the Scriptures and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, David says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” The Lord’s goodness and mercy are attested to all throughout the Bible. Goodness speaks to His favor and grace toward us, while His mercy speaks to His steadfast love. God has truly given all this to us in Jesus Christ, and like David, we will live in the Lord’s house forever. In the following post I hope to write about what the New Testament has to say about the Lord being our shepherd.